Directions:Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl combine flour, cocoa salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sweetened butter and mix until a very thick dough forms. Use a spoon to fold in the peppermint and distributing them evenly. Form cookies by dropping 1 teaspoon of dough on the sheet two inches apart. Flatten slightly then bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

*These are not simply mint chips, or the miniatures they sell individually wrapped in a bag, they are a little smaller than a dime and are made especially for baking. They have a dark chocolate shell and mint cream inside. If you can't find them, I would think the best substitution would be finely chopped York Peppermint Patties. It wouldn't be a perfect substitute but I think it would come the closest.

My thoughts:

My mom bought me a bag of these mini York Peppermint Patties for baking. Not only are they super cute, they are easy to work with, you can just treat them like you would a chocolate chip. The cocoa in the cookie itself helps keep the mint from being too overwhelming, but don't worry, they are full of mint in every bite.They are also just slightly chewy for that perfect brownie-cookie hybrid effect.

As a side note: I baked some of these cookies in my new Infrawave Oven. It has a cookie setting (!) and a handy feature that converts the time that a recipe calls for baking in a traditional oven (like above) to what is needed in the faster cooking Infrawave. I like it because it frees up my oven for larger items when I am doing a lot of cooking/baking and (unlike a microwave) it actually bakes, browns and crisps things.

I also plan on submitting this recipe to Food Blogga's cookie event. There are already so many wonderful cookies up!

I have never seen these baking pieces before. Thanks to you and your mom (she rocks for bringing you a bag). Fudgy and peppermint-y? I have to surprise my husband with a batch of these. York peppermint patties were always a favorite of his. Thanks for such a festive and yummy entry to Eat Christmas Cookies, Rachel. -Susan

I am making these for EVERY person that I can't afford a present for...and maybe some of those I can afford a present for. Thanks for all of your great ideas..now I just have to find (in Maine no less) a bag of those peppermint patty baking pieces

Wow...these are like a cookie version of my fave brownies - I put a layer of York Peppermint Patty minis in the middle of Ghirardhelli's Double Chocolate Brownie batter. (Yes...I still use boxed mix b/c I have yet to find a brownie recipe that can match it...)I would definitely devour these cookies!

So, I couldn't find the baking bits, but I tried using the regular ones cut up into small pieces. The turned out well, and tasted great. The only down side was that some of the peppermint leaked out of the cookie when it was baking, and it pooled around the edge. It hardens into a flat, hard, peppermint candy. Still tastes good though :) and it only happened to some.

Jacki: I thought that might happen if you chopped up the miniatures but I don't know what another subsitution would be. The chips are very self contained so there is no oozing. I'm glad they were tasty though!

I found the chips at SuperTarget today. However, they were not in the regular baking aisle. They were at the front of the store, on one of a few shelves of Christmas baking essentials and were on the shelf with the ANDES mint chips and peanut butter chips etc. I had hunted through the big baking aisle and did not find them or even a spot for them there. Almost left the store--but ran into these on the way out, thank goodness. Will try in the morning for sure!